Liver – the human liver has four lobes: right, left, caudate and quadrate. The fetal pig liver has five lobes: right lateral, right central, left central, left lateral, and caudate.
Intestines – there is a significant difference in the structure of the fetal pig colon compared to the human colon. The pig colon is spiral. (See p. 45 of the FPDG.)
Adrenal glands – In the fetal pig, the adrenal glands are found near the aorta towards the cephalic end of the kidneys, instead of on top of the kidneys as is the case in humans. (See p. 45 of the FPDG.)
Quiz: Like humans, the adrenal glands of the fetal pig are retroperitoneal. What other abdominal organs are retroperitoneal? (See p. 45 of the FPDG.)
Stomach, spleen, bile duct system, small intestines, kidneys, bladder, etc. – the remainder of the abdominal organs found in the fetal pig are basically the same as found in humans.
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However, it is much larger than most students1 expect. This is not a difference of pigs from other mammals. All mammals have a large (enormous) thymus gland during the fetal stage. It gradually shrinks, relative to the rest of the body, throughout life. (See p. 51 of the FPDG.)
Lungs – Like humans, pigs have multi-lobed lungs.
Quiz: Humans have three lobes in the right lung, two lobes in the left lung. How many lobes are there in the lungs of the fetal pig? (See p. 51 of the FPDG.)
Pericardium, vena cava, esophagus, phrenic nerve, etc. – these other thoracic organs are basically the same in pigs and humans.
Genitourinary structures
Uterus – The fetal pig uterus is of a type called bicornate, compared to the simplex human uterus. This means that the pig uterus has two large horns in addition to the body. These horns are sometimes confused with the much smaller Fallopian tubes. It is the presence of these horns which allows pigs to have a litter of 8 or 10 pigs. (See p. 57 of the